Bahrain: Abuse, corruption, torture and public anger
As civil unrest continues, so does the tendency to find alternatives to the routine protests followed by crackdown, arrests and possibly more aggression and repression. The latest tactic adopted by the youth in Karzakkan has been the use of whistles in a collective way.
The adoption of this method by the people of Karzakkan on Tuesday night (13th April) has caused enormous embarrassment to the regime which is intent on crippling the popular resistance. As dust fell on the town, the citizens hurried to use their whistles to transform the area into an arena of noise that alerted others to the deepening political crisis in this troubled country. The people of Karzakkan were protesting against the imposition of jail sentences against 19 people who had been acquitted by the Al Khalifa courts earlier. Among the reasons for the acquittal after it had been established that they had been subjected to severe torture and that their “confessions” had been extracted under torture. The riot police and Death Squads rushed to the area in an attempt to quell the unrest. Some Bahrainis were arrested by the foreign-staffed riot police including two young school boys. These people were randomly picked up as they walked in the streets. They were subsequently released.
At another level the notorious minister of information, Mai Al Khalifa, has banned the use of the blackberry network to pass the news of unrest in the country. The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights issued a statement condemning this step that would lead to more curtailment of public freedom at a time when the people are calling for wider choice. The ministry ordered the people to obtain its approval before sending any text message from these telephones without the prior consent of the minister. Mai Al Khalifa has become commonly known as the “internet guillotine”. Since she took her post hundreds of internet cites have been banned and the ruling family sought to prevent the spread of news about the popular movement that is gradually taking root.
Meanwhile the extent of corruption among the Al Khalifa members has been highlighted by an ongoing case in USA. Since 2008, U.S. prosecutors have been investigating whether Pittsburgh-based Alcoa was involved in bribing government officials in Bahrain in exchange for business in possible violation of the 1977 U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors are looking at Alcoa’s relationship with Aluminum Bahrain BSC, a Bahrain government-owned manufacturing company also known as Alba, these people said. Alba has one of the world’s largest aluminum smelters and bought raw materials from Alcoa. It is now widely known that the former Bahraini Ambassador to UK, Khalifa bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, who is currently in charge of the torture chambers, has been implicated in a case of alleged money-laundering. Mansoor bin Rajab, a minister of state at the Al Khalifa cabinet has recently been arrested for allegedly being involved in money-laundering activities. When he pointed a finger at the Al Khalifa torturer, the ruler issued a decree banning the publication of the details of the case. It is clear that the Al Khalifa torturer must be sheltered at any cost.
The above facts relate nicely to the recently-published Freedom House report that gave horrifying details about the downfall of human values decent behaviour in the echelons of power in Bharain. The 2009 Report published earlier this month painted a gloomy picture of the situation in Bahrain with all indices pointing to the standards in public life showing a free downfall. The report has come only few weeks after the damning report against the Al Khalifa dictatorship and granting it the status of “not free”. It also comes only few weeks after the publication by Human Rights Watch (HRW) of a report that confirmed the use of torture against Bahrainis. HRW produced documented evidence to prove the use to torture. Despite this, the Al Khalifa have continued torturing Bahrainis languishing in their cells.
Bahrain Freedom Movment
17th April 2010